LEMONADE

Lemonade

You know those people...We ALL know those people.  The people who are so positive, so amazingly inspirational, so...everything!  You just want to be near them and try to soak up some of their energy.  They are the people who make lemonade!

Well, I was walking my dog around the neighborhood (yes, she is in desperate need for the beauty parlor!), and I saw that someone(s) had taken some chalk and had put multi colored arrows all over the streets.  So, I did what I had to do- I followed the arrows!  

What did I find?  Lemonade ahead.  I KNEW it had to be my lemonade girl, my very own daughter!

Well, I missed her but I found traces of her everywhere!  Some signs strewn on the street...advertising lemonade for sale- by the lemonade buddies!  I am so blessed that my daughter, Posy, has such great friends next door!  They ALL love to make LEMONADE!  So happy, so energetic.  Why sit around the house if you could grab a lemon and make lemonade?!

Yes, they drank their own lemonade...

And this was found, in the alley near our house.

You see, Posy has a lemon tree outside of her window. (You can see our neighbor's house next door.)  We have no fence between our house- and that is a great thing!!  Could have been horrible, but why build a fence when you have the lemonade buddies next door?

 The lemonade buddies!

So go ahead, grab a lemon- or two or three.

image found on Pinterest

And then...OOPS, wrong words!  Haha.

image found on Pinterest

And make some lemonade.  Yup.  That means take something sour and make it sweet.  Put a positive spin on something that would ordinarily turn your day sour.  I dare you:-)

xoxo,

KIDS' CHILL ROOM

Kids' Chill Room

I want to show you some more pictures of the kids' room I finished on December 23rd.  I couldn't show you everything because it was a surprise for the kids- not that they would be following my blog...but you never know!  

To set the stage, the room had been a guest room for granny but since there are four kids in the family, the kids needed a little extra play space.  So, we turned this into a teen hang out room.  The chocolate brown velvet sofa that is soooooooo comfy is facing a gigantic TV.  I am not a TV buff, but I think 70" is big!  I can't believe how thin TVs are, too...I digress.  Anyhow, the giant TV is grounded by a console that holds many a controller.  (Yes, I forgot to take a picture of that!)  The kids can use the bright orange poufs to kick their feet up on- or kick them over to play a Wii game.  

With kids comes food.  So, I got this "Tini" Oomph table for those mid-day snack runs.  The food wipes off easily and the "parrot" colored lacquer is very durable!  With food in mind, I upholstered the two chairs in faux ostrich skin pleather.  Talk about wipe-able!  I also put casters on the chairs so they could move the table and turn the chairs for movie viewing time.  The chairs roll very easily with their extra strong brass hardware!

We couldn't forget Granny though, so I designed this fun Murphy bed.  The ones you can buy online are horrid- and I am not being a snob!  I wanted this to look like a funky and fresh cabinet or armoire, so the undercarriage of the bed is concealed by the diamond shaped faux doors.  I then surrounded the bed by display shelves and behind the door fronts hide the pillows. 

A little close up of the accessories.  I found most items at consignment stores.  The items I didn't buy there I "found" in the house.  It is amazing that the accessories that you are sick of can actually look great in a different location:-)  I couldn't resist the dog.  I wish I had a better picture for you.  It cracks me up!

 This is the way the backgammon table will go when the bed is opened.

 Yes, I am playing around with pillows again!

The next room I am working on for them is a girl's room upstairs.  Remember this picture I took of a pillow at Oomph...

Well, I am going to use this fabric!!  I am trying to decide if I do fun pillows- or cover some chairs with it.  I adore this fuchsia color!!

The fabric comes in these three other color ways in the above picture.  They are all gorgeous, but that darn Fuchsia just gets to me every time I see it.  Which do you like best?

xoxo,

2013

2013

I can't believe it is 2013!  It has almost been a year of blogging and I can't wait to do it some more.  I am so grateful for everything that has happened this past year in my design business and I promise to build on it in 2013.

In January, I started the blog while I was in the airport in Prague.  I wanted to share some of the beautiful architecture and other inspirations and needed a place to share my thoughts.  I have always had a passion for travel and I bring my new found global inspirations into all of my interior design projects.  And projects I have had!!  In 2012, I designed so many kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, fireplaces and bars that I was able to bring tile and stone inspiration from all over the world!

By using some Italian marble, sprinkled with Moroccan hand made tiles, French limestone, black Zimbabwe granite and so much more in my designs, a little soul and character has been brought into the spaces.

In March, because I was such an amazing design blogger (haha!), I went to get more educated at the Design Bloggers Conference in Los Angeles.  It was very informative and I met tons of inspirational designers.  Yes, I am terrible at networking but sometimes you have to put yourself out there!  In fact, I will be attending again this year.

Summer was fun- especially since a bathroom I had designed graced the pages of Better Homes and Gardens August 2012:-)

Late summer, I also had a blast when HGTV's Child Style with Rebecca Woolf came to my home to film an episode featuring my daughter's bedroom.  I just got a link to the video and will share that very soon!

Quadrille featured two bedrooms I designed on their website.  I was so excited because I LOVE all of their fabrics and wallpapers.  In the first photo of the master bedroom, I used both fabrics and wallpaper.

Master Bedroom

In this child's room, I used another Quadrille Fabric on this queen sized bed with a trundle hidden below- a must for slumber parties!

Girl's bedroom

Lastly, one of the BEST things I have done this year for ME (OK, and my business) is join the Master Mind group led by Tobi Fairley, an interior designer from Arkansas who, like me, has her MBA!  I have met so many talented design professionals through her, and am both challenged and encouraged by this group.  We will all convene in Arkansas next February and I can't wait to share more about this.

Cheers to another year!  May it be filled with many challenges and sweet rewards.

xoxo,